Review - Breakfast, lunch get positive marks at beach restaurant

By Jason FryeStarNews Correspondent

Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 2:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 2:29 p.m.

While most new restaurants close their doors within the first year, Wrightsville Beach's King Neptune is a curve-buster with nearly 70 years of service behind it. If new owners, the brothers Danny and Earl McPherson, have anything to say about it, King Neptune will be open for another 70.

King Neptune Restaurant

Early in 2012, the McPherson brothers purchased King Neptune and quickly scrapped most of the menu, setting to work reinventing this Wrightsville Beach classic.

Now, almost 10 months after acquiring the restaurant, the McPhersons have settled into a menu and brought in a new chef, Drew Stanley.

King Neptune serves breakfast and lunch six days a week, and dinner every evening.

Breakfast at King Neptune is, for the most part, down-home and simple. The usual suspects of eggs and meat on a biscuit, pancakes, omelets and eggs to order make an appearance, as do Southern classics like biscuits and gravy, chicken and waffles, and shrimp and grits.

To the new owners' credit, they've stretched the menu to include breakfast burritos, a roasted vegetable frittata, a garden panini, an egg white bowl and a yogurt parfait.

I tried a little of everything at breakfast and ordered the All-American: eggs, bacon, sausage and sand dollar pancakes served with a side of grits. Fantastic. The eggs, sausage and bacon were good, but the pancakes were exactly what a pancake should be, but rarely is – crispy outside, light inside. The dollop of cinnamon butter melting on the top gave each enough sweetness to be delicious without syrup. At only $6.55, this is a breakfast worth trying.

Lunch was a similarly positive experience. The slider sampler plate – three sliders of my choosing (they have a burger, veggie burger, barbecue, crab cake and tilapia) served with fries – was mostly excellent, although the fries could use some work.

The burger was made with fresh-ground, hand-pattied beef. Each hamburger is tender, juicy and cooked almost to order (my medium burger came out a little on the medium-well side).

The veggie burger impressed as well. I asked our waitress if the veggie burger was fresh and she insisted it was made that day. I've heard this before, so I had my doubts, until I lifted the top of the bun and there sat a delicate, hand-formed black bean, onion, mushroom and cilantro patty. It was toothsome without being too dense and the onion played off the cilantro nicely, giving each bite a little heat and immediate cool down.

The best was saved for last. Most crab cakes are 90 percent cake, but not this one; it looked to be 90 percent crab meat. It came topped with a red pepper aioli that gave it a nice, spicy kick.

I'll be back for the crab cake, and probably the veggie burger, but what I won't be back for is the salad. The spinach salad was a sad little affair served with the strangest "dressing" I've ever tasted. The menu calls it a "warm balsamic dressing," but I'm not sure that's what it was. It was overly sharp, too thick and carried a strange, unpalatable aftertaste.

Dinner at King Neptune gets mixed reviews.

The mussels are a surprising gem. Served in a scallion and sherry cream and sprinkled with chorizo, this bowl of mussels was among the best I've had in town. The broth was spicy without being overwhelming and was a great match to the sweet, tender mussels.

The New England clam chowder was the best I've had in Wilmington. The rich, deeply colored broth filled with clams delivered on the flavors and textures great chowder should have.

The daily special was five-spiced tuna served over cellophane noodles in a seafood broth. Unfortunately, it was not as advertised. For starters, they were rice noodles, not cellophane noodles, and the broth was a gray, flavorless sea. Finally, it was cold. Given my experiences at breakfast, lunch and with the appetizers, I'm struggling with why this dish was so bad.

My wife's coconut-breaded tilapia was better. The fish was well-cooked, flaky and juicy, but perhaps a little heavily breaded with coconut. Overall, the dish tasted a little too sweet – the coconut in combination with a pineapple beurre blanc was a little much, though the crisp, steamed green beans were a nice counterpart. Perhaps if there was less breading on the fish, the dish would feel a little more balanced.

Overall, King Neptune deserves a look, especially for breakfast and lunch, and their regular specials certainly encourage you to give them a try. Tuesdays they serve $1 tacos from noon to close. Wednesdays are half-price burgers for dinner. Appetizers are free after 5 p.m. Thursdays with purchase of an entree.

Aside from a few hitches with the food, which they should be able to work out, the ambiance of King Neptune is holding it back. The McPhersons kept the bar quaint, kitschy and salty, which is fine, but the dining room could use some freshening up with a paint job, a few booths around the walls or new, more intimate lighting.

Fix that and tweak the food, and there's no reason King Neptune shouldn't be busy all summer and winter long.

<p>While most new restaurants close their doors within the first year, Wrightsville Beach's King Neptune is a curve-buster with nearly 70 years of service behind it. If new owners, the brothers Danny and Earl McPherson, have anything to say about it, King Neptune will be open for another 70.</p><p>Early in 2012, the McPherson brothers purchased King Neptune and quickly scrapped most of the menu, setting to work reinventing this Wrightsville Beach classic.</p><p>Now, almost 10 months after acquiring the restaurant, the McPhersons have settled into a menu and brought in a new chef, Drew Stanley. </p><p>King Neptune serves breakfast and lunch six days a week, and dinner every evening.</p><p>Breakfast at King Neptune is, for the most part, down-home and simple. The usual suspects of eggs and meat on a biscuit, pancakes, omelets and eggs to order make an appearance, as do Southern classics like biscuits and gravy, chicken and waffles, and shrimp and grits. </p><p>To the new owners' credit, they've stretched the menu to include breakfast burritos, a roasted vegetable frittata, a garden panini, an egg white bowl and a yogurt parfait.</p><p>I tried a little of everything at breakfast and ordered the All-American: eggs, bacon, sausage and sand dollar pancakes served with a side of grits. Fantastic. The eggs, sausage and bacon were good, but the pancakes were exactly what a pancake should be, but rarely is – crispy outside, light inside. The dollop of cinnamon butter melting on the top gave each enough sweetness to be delicious without syrup. At only $6.55, this is a breakfast worth trying.</p><p>Lunch was a similarly positive experience. The slider sampler plate – three sliders of my choosing (they have a burger, veggie burger, barbecue, crab cake and tilapia) served with fries – was mostly excellent, although the fries could use some work. </p><p>The burger was made with fresh-ground, hand-pattied beef. Each hamburger is tender, juicy and cooked almost to order (my medium burger came out a little on the medium-well side). </p><p>The veggie burger impressed as well. I asked our waitress if the veggie burger was fresh and she insisted it was made that day. I've heard this before, so I had my doubts, until I lifted the top of the bun and there sat a delicate, hand-formed black bean, onion, mushroom and cilantro patty. It was toothsome without being too dense and the onion played off the cilantro nicely, giving each bite a little heat and immediate cool down.</p><p>The best was saved for last. Most crab cakes are 90 percent cake, but not this one; it looked to be 90 percent crab meat. It came topped with a red pepper aioli that gave it a nice, spicy kick. </p><p>I'll be back for the crab cake, and probably the veggie burger, but what I won't be back for is the salad. The spinach salad was a sad little affair served with the strangest "dressing" I've ever tasted. The menu calls it a "warm balsamic dressing," but I'm not sure that's what it was. It was overly sharp, too thick and carried a strange, unpalatable aftertaste. </p><p>Dinner at King Neptune gets mixed reviews. </p><p>The mussels are a surprising gem. Served in a scallion and sherry cream and sprinkled with chorizo, this bowl of mussels was among the best I've had in town. The broth was spicy without being overwhelming and was a great match to the sweet, tender mussels.</p><p>The New England clam chowder was the best I've had in Wilmington. The rich, deeply colored broth filled with clams delivered on the flavors and textures great chowder should have. </p><p>The daily special was five-spiced tuna served over cellophane noodles in a seafood broth. Unfortunately, it was not as advertised. For starters, they were rice noodles, not cellophane noodles, and the broth was a gray, flavorless sea. Finally, it was cold. Given my experiences at breakfast, lunch and with the appetizers, I'm struggling with why this dish was so bad.</p><p>My wife's coconut-breaded tilapia was better. The fish was well-cooked, flaky and juicy, but perhaps a little heavily breaded with coconut. Overall, the dish tasted a little too sweet – the coconut in combination with a pineapple beurre blanc was a little much, though the crisp, steamed green beans were a nice counterpart. Perhaps if there was less breading on the fish, the dish would feel a little more balanced.</p><p>Overall, King Neptune deserves a look, especially for breakfast and lunch, and their regular specials certainly encourage you to give them a try. Tuesdays they serve $1 tacos from noon to close. Wednesdays are half-price burgers for dinner. Appetizers are free after 5 p.m. Thursdays with purchase of an entree. </p><p>Aside from a few hitches with the food, which they should be able to work out, the ambiance of King Neptune is holding it back. The McPhersons kept the bar quaint, kitschy and salty, which is fine, but the dining room could use some freshening up with a paint job, a few booths around the walls or new, more intimate lighting. </p><p>Fix that and tweak the food, and there's no reason King Neptune shouldn't be busy all summer and winter long.</p><p>Features: 343-2343</p>